


Deathly Hallows Epilogue: Redux

by phoenixjustice



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M, genderswap - Victoire to Victor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-09-17
Updated: 2008-09-17
Packaged: 2018-02-17 03:28:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2295038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixjustice/pseuds/phoenixjustice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snarry, post-DH. </p><p>Severus Snape had subsequently been found hours later, quite<br/>alive. This had been a mystery to everyone until Snape, in his driest of<br/>tones, had said: 'I am one of the foremost Potions Masters on the<br/>/planet/, much less England, so do you not think I would carry a<br/>blood-replenishing potion and the like, knowing full well what the Dark<br/>Lord's bloody snake could do?'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Deathly Hallows Epilogue: Redux

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MissKM](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissKM/gifts).



They definitely gathered the most looks out of anyone at Platform 9 &  
3/4, that was for sure. But Harry was more than used to it by now, still  
slightly uncomfortable with the scrutiny on occasion, but knowing that  
no matter how old he got or what he did, he would still be gawked at by  
people; even /if /nineteen years had passed since the final and true  
fall of Tom Marvolo Riddle, who was best known by Lord Voldemort.

Even after his death, it still took people quite a bit of time to be  
able to say his name and not 'You-Know-Who', but after years had passed,  
people were finally able to be more open and the like.

Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first of  
September was crisp and golden as an apple, and as the little family  
bobbed across the rumbling road toward the great sooty station, the  
fumes of car exhausts and the breath of pedestrians sparkled like  
cobwebs in the cold air.

He gets pulled out of his thoughts by the two large cages that rattled  
on top of the laden trolleys that were being pushed; the owls inside  
them hooted indignantly, and a black haired girl trailed tearfully  
behind her brothers, clutching her dad's arm.

"It won't be long and you'll be going too." Harry told her.

"Two years," sniffed Lily. "I want to go /now/!"

Commuters stared curiously at the owls as the family wove its towards  
the barriers between platforms nine and ten. Albus's voice drifted back  
to Harry over the surrounding clamor; his sons were resuming the  
argument they had started in the car.

"I /won't!/ I /won't /be in Hufflepuff!"

"James, that's enough!" said Severus.

Yes, Severus Snape. He was most definitely /not /Ginny Weasley. No, he  
and Ginny had broken up right after the final battle, this time for  
good. Severus Snape had subsequently been found hours later, quite  
alive. This had been a mystery to everyone until Snape, in his driest of  
tones, had said: 'I am one of the foremost Potions Masters on the  
/planet/, much less England, so do you not think I would carry a  
blood-replenishing potion and the like, knowing full well what the Dark  
Lord's bloody snake could do?'

That had settled that. Snape had also been cleared of any wrong doing in  
Albus Dumbledore's death soon after, even though he had actually killed  
the man, it had been on said man's orders and a pensieve into Severus's  
memory's showed the truth. As to he and Snape getting together, well,  
he, Ron and Hermione had all decided to take their final year at  
Hogwarts, taking their N.E.W.T's and all, though as much as all of them  
had done in the final battle and leading up to it, they technically  
didn't have to. He, knowing Snape a little better now, had decided to  
himself that he would try to get to know the man who had known his  
mother so well, even if the man would be as snarky and such as always  
(having re-taken up the mantle of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher,  
with Slughorn continuing to teach Potions), and Snape definitely was;  
that was just part of who he was.

But Harry had been persistant, and had been rewarded slowly, here and  
there, with small conversations and the like with the man, and he  
realized suddenly during one of these, months into the school year, that  
he had fallen for the man and had liked him longer than he realized. The  
most shocking thing was the sudden reciprocation of his feelings by  
Snape, who he had been afraid in the beginning would only see Lily in  
front of him, because of his eyes, but Severus had set him straight. 'I  
loved your mother, Harry. But I was not /in /love with her. She was like  
a sister to me, family more than my own family and I loved her. But it  
was never like that.'

They had been together every day since that night in Severus's rooms  
down in the dungeons and two years to the day of Harry's graduation of  
Hogwarts, the Wizarding World was shocked by the sudden marriage of  
Harry James Potter and Severus Tobias Snape. (Wizarding laws differed in  
some ways than Muggle ones--like the fact that same sex relationships  
were far from uncommon and were nowhere near as looked down upon as  
Muggles looked down on it.) Ron had fainted when Harry told him the  
news; Severus and a very pregnant Hermione just shared an amused look  
while Harry helped Ron back up.

Male pregnancy was not all that uncommon either, with the right potions  
or spells to help it along (and Severus was a Potions Master) and Harry  
had their first child, James Sirius Potter-Snape. The shocking part was  
it had been /Severus /who suggested the name James, not Harry who had.  
Perhaps because it was his way of showing that he had finally gotten  
over whatever grudge he had against Harry's father, either way, that's  
what they decided upon and Harry chose Sirius for James' middle name.  
Severus had muttered a lot and such at the name, but agreed on it.

"I only said he /might /be," James, grinning at his younger brother and  
bringing Harry out of his thoughts. "There's nothing wrong with that. He  
/might /be in Hufflep--"

But James caught his father's eyes, his father the sternest of the two  
by far. The five Potter-Snape's approached the barrier. With a slightly  
cocky look over his shoulder at his younger brother, James took the  
trolley from his father and broke into a run. A moment later, he had  
vanished.

"You'll write to me, won't you?" Albus asked his dad immediately,  
capitalizing on the momentary absence of his brother. He would have  
asked his father, but he was a teacher at Hogwarts, and that made it far  
from necessary.

"Every day if you want me to." said Harry. Inwardly he grinned; he  
hadn't told the kids yet that he had stepped down as head of the Auror  
Office. It had been a nice position but he was also pleased with what he  
was about to do; Slughorn had retired from his position of Potions--for  
good this time, and Severus had re-taken the mantle of Potions teacher,  
having held the DADA position for over nineteen years, while Harry would  
be taking the DADA position. He wondered what his kids' reaction would  
be. Lily was not yet old enough for Hogwarts and would be staying with  
Ron and Hermione part of the time.

"Not e/very /day," Albus said quickly. "James says most people only get  
letters from home about once a month."

"I wrote to James three times a week last year." Harry said.

"And you don't want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts."  
Severus put in. "He likes a laugh, your brother, a real laugh riot."  
Harry laughs at Severus' tone.

Side by side, they pushed the second trolley forward, gathering speed.  
As they reached the barrier, Albus winced, but no collision came.  
Instead, the family emerged onto platform nine and three-quarters, which  
was obscured by thick white steam that was pouring from the scarlet  
Hogwarts Express. Indistinct figures were swarming through the mist,  
into which James had already disappeared.

"Where are they?" asked Albus anxiously, peeting at the hazy forms they  
passed as they made their way down the platform.

"We'll find them." said Severus reassuringly.

But the vapor was dense and it was difficult to make out anybody's  
faces. Detached from their owners, voices sounded unnaturally loud.  
Harry thought he heard Percy discoursing loudly on broomstick  
regulations, and was quite glad of the excuse not to stop and say hello...

"I think that's them, Al," Harry said suddenly.

A group of four people people emerged from the mist, standing alongside  
the very last carriage. Their faces only came into focus when Harry,  
Severus, Lily, and Albus had drawn right up to them.

"Hi," said Albus, sounding immensely relieved.

Rose, who was already wearing her brand-new Hogwarts robes, beamed at him.

"Parked all right, then?" Ron asked Harry. "I did. Hermione didn't  
believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd  
have to Confund the examiner."

"No, I didn't," said Hermione. "I had complete faith in you."

"As a matter of fact, I /did /Confund him," Ron whispered to Harry, as  
together they lifted Albus' trunk and owl onto the train while Severus  
and Hermione spoke. "I only forgot to look in the wing mirror, and let's  
face it, I can see a Supersensory Charm for that."

Back on the platgform, they found Lily and Hugo, Rose's younger brother,  
having an animated discussion about which House they would be sorted  
into when they finally went to Hogwarts.

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you," said Ron, "but no  
pressure."

"/Ron!/"

Lily and Hugo laughed, but Albus and Rose looked solemn, both afraid to  
go to Houses they didn't want to be in.

"He doesn't mean it," said Hermione, but Ron was no longer paying  
attention. Catching Harry's eye, he nodded covertly to a point some  
fifty yards away. The steam had thinned for a moment, and three people  
stoof in sharp relief against the shifting mist.

"Look who it is."

Draco Malfoy was standing there with his wife and son, a dark coat  
buttoned up to his throat. His wife was more than familiar to all of  
them, Ron having pointed her out rather than Draco; it was Ginny. She  
had gotten together with Malfoy sometime after she and Harry had broken  
up, and had rather estranged herself from the rest of the family, though  
Draco, strangely enough, stayed closely in touch with them all. Harry  
wasn't sure why she had stayed so distant over the years, except maybe  
because he was very, very close with the Weasleys and considered them  
family. Or maybe because he had married Severus; he wasn't sure the reason.

Ginny had just recently fire-called her mother and father and said she,  
Draco and their son would be coming to dinner. Lucius Malfoy and  
Narcissa Malfoy would also be attending, shockingly enough. But it  
seemed like all sides were trying to patch things up and start anew and  
Harry was glad of that.

Draco and Ginny's son resembled Draco as much as Albus resembled Harry.  
Draco caught sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Severus staring at him  
(well Severus wasn't blatantly staring like they all were, but he had  
caught Draco's eyes), nodded curtly, and turned away again.

"That Scorpius," said Ron under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in  
every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

"Ron, for heaven's sake," said Hermione, half sterm, half amused. "Don't  
try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

"You're right, sorry." said Ron, but unable to help himself, he added,  
"Don't get /too /friendly with him though, Rosie. Your Granddad Weasley  
would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

"Hey!"

James had reappeared; he had divested himself of his trunk, owl, and  
trolley, and was evidently bursting with news.

"Teddy's back there," he said breathlessly, pointing back over his  
shoulder into the billowing clouds of steam. "Just seen him! And guess  
what he's doing? /Snogging Victor/!"

He gazed up at the adults, evidently disappointed by the lack of reaction.

"/Our /Teddy! /Teddy Lupin/! Snogging /our /Victor! /Our /cousin! And I  
asked Teddy what he was doing--"

"You interupted them?" said Severus. "You are /very /much like Ronald--"

"--and he said he'd come to see him off! And then he told me to go away.  
He's /snogging /him!" James added as though worried he had not made  
himself clear.

"Oh, it would be lovely if they got married!" whispered Lily,  
ecstatically. "Teddy would /really /be part of the family then!"

"He already comes round for dinner about four times a week," said Harry.  
"Why don't we just invite him to live with us and have done with it?"

"Yeah!" said James enthusiastically. "I don't mind sharing with  
Al--Teddy could take my room!"

"No," said Severus firmly. "You and Albus will share a room only when I  
want the house demolished."

Harry checked the battered old watch that had once been Fabian Prewett's.

"It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board." said Harry and, holding  
back a grin as he hugged James, added. "Don't forget to give Neville my  
love."

"Dad! I can't give a professor /love/! Having Papa at school is bad enough!"

"But you /know /Neville--"

James rolled his eyes.

"Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, like Papa's  
Professor Snape, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him  
/love/..."

Shaking his head at his dad's foolishness, he vented his feelings by  
aiming a kick at Albus.

"See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."

"I thought they were invisible? /You said they were invisible/!"

But James merely laughed, permitted his dad to kiss him, gave his father  
a fleeting hug, then lept onto the rapidly filling train. They saw him  
wave, then sprint away up the corridor to find his friends.

"Thestrals are nothing to worry about," Harry told Albus. "They're  
gentle things, there's nothing scary about them. Anyway, you won't be  
going up to school in the carriages, you'll be going in the boats."

Harry kissed Albus good-bye...or Albus thinking it was good-bye.

"See you at Christmas."

"Bye, Al." said Harry as his son hugged him. "Don't forget Hagrid's  
invited you to tea next Friday. Listen to your papa. Don't mess with  
Peeves. Don't duel anyone till you've learned how. And don't let James  
wind you up."

"What if I'm in Hufflepuff?"

The whisper was for his dad alone, and Harry knew that only the moment  
of departure could have forced Albus to reveal and sincere that fear was.

Harry crouched down so that Albus's face was slightly above his own.  
Alone of Harry's three children, Albus had inherited Lily's eyes. The  
others had eyes as black as their papa's.

"Albus Severus," Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Severus could  
hear and he was tactful enough to pretend to be waving slightly to Rose,  
who was now on the train, "you were named for two former headmasters of  
Hogwarts. One was one of the greatest wizards' the world has ever known  
and the other is the greatest man I've ever known, and who I love more  
than anything. And they were great friends, though they were from two  
different houses; Gryffindor and Slytherin. It doesn't matter what House  
you go to, despite what your brother likes to tease."

"But /just say/--"

"--then Hufflepuff House will have gained an excellent student, won't  
it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you'll be  
able to choose Gryffindor over Hufflepuff. The Sorting Hat takes your  
choice into account."

"Really?"

"It did for me; it wanted to put me in Slytherin." said Harry.

He had never told any of his children that before, and he saw the wonder  
in Albus's face when he said it. But now the doors were slamming all  
along the scarlet train, and the blurred outlines of parents were  
swarming for final kisses, last-minute reminders.

Albus jumped into the carriage and Severus closed the door behind him.  
Students were hanging from the windows nearest them. A great number of  
faces, both on the train and all, seemed to be turned towards Harry and  
Severus both.

"Why are they all /staring/?" demanded Albus as he and Rose craned  
around to look at the other students.

"Don't let it worry you," said Ron. "It's me. I'm extremely famous."

Albus, Rose, Hugo, and Lily laughed. The train began to love, and Harry  
walked alongside it, watching his son's thin face, already ablaze with  
excitement. Harry kept smiling and waving, even though it was like a  
little bereavement, watching his son glide away from him...at least for  
this short little time.

The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train rounded  
a corner. Harry's hand was still raised in farewell.

"He'll be all right," murmured Severus, for only Harry's ears to hear.

As Harry turned to look at him, he lowered his hand absentmindedly and  
touched the lightning scar on his forehead. He leans into his husband's  
touch and kisses him deeply.

The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well.

::::::::::::::::::::::;  
A/N: I'm sure someone will probably comment on Ron's remark; remember that they're wizards and cousins and the like marrying is very common place. So common place that no one really gives it much thought (unless the interbreeding gets REALLY bad, like it did with the Gaunts. Marrying a cousin or the like, especially one of a bigger class or the like is considered good. Mind you, Ron being a Weasley, he doesn't care about that sort of thing; he just wants what is best for his children. Even if that means one shacks up with a Malfoy. =P


End file.
